1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to thread compliance gauges and particularly to a gauge for determining the accuracy with which the threading of a shaft has been accomplished.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is no known prior art. The thread forming industry has always been plagued with the inability to quickly and accurately determine the concentricity or skewdness of threads formed on a shaft. Thread gauges exist which measure the pitch diameter of a threaded shaft which is the distance between the midpoints of the opposite flank surfaces of the screw threads. The pitch diameter measurement is of primary importance in accurate thread forming as it is the flank surfaces of the threads that must make precision contact with the flank surfaces of mating threads to achieve a strong threaded connection. The inner and outer diameter measurements of the threads are of secondary importance as these areas of the threads do not make contact with the mating threads. Two other parameters of importance in determining accuracy of threading are the concentricity and skewedness of the threads formed on the shaft with respect to the axis of rotation of the shaft. Existing devices do not measure these important parameters. While threads may have the proper pitch diameter, they may be formed in such a non-concentric or skewed manner as to be unsuitable for close tolerance work. The present invention is the only known device for checking these parameters.